What is it?

Eric Church is one of my favorite country artists. The 41 year old singer-songwriter-storyteller from North Carolina spins real life stories through his music that just somehow tug at my heart. The first Eric Church song that really resonated with me was Springsteen, a story where he reminisces of a crush he had on a girl when he was seventeen years old and how a Bruce Springsteen song still makes those memories come alive years later.

His latest single is called Some of It. Now THIS, this is a song well worth the three minutes and fifteen seconds of your life it will take you to listen. Go download the lyrics at www.lyrics.com. Then find it on YouTube or iTunes or your favorite app and give it a listen. Even if you aren’t particularly fond of country music, do yourself a favor. It’s a great song, full of words like the following:

• Beer don’t keep
• A glove’s not cheap
• And trucks don’t wreck themselves
• Mama ain’t a shrink
• Daddy ain’t a bank
• And God ain’t wishin’ well
• Money ain’t rich
• Everybody sins
• And nobody wins in a fight
• And sometimes wrong gets right

That’s good stuff right there! What got me really thinking though was the chorus:

• Some of it you learn the hard way
• Some of it you read on a page
• Some of it comes from heartbreak
• Most of it comes with age
• And none of it ever comes easy
• A bunch of it you maybe can’t use
• I know I don’t prob’ly know what I think I do
• But there’s somethin’ to
• Some of it

My question is “what is the ‘IT’ he’s talking about? Is IT wisdom, advice, good information, life lessons, insight, knowledge, understanding, guidance, intelligence, or maybe all of the above?

The song also got me thinking about some of the great questions I have heard over the past 33 years of practicing law. Questions like, “What is it? How does it work? How will my family understand it when I’m gone? How much does it cost?”

The Oxford Dictionary says that “it” is a pronoun, meaning that the word is used to refer to a thing previously mentioned or easily identified, and then goes on to give no less than TEN examples of how it can be used. It’s no wonder English is a tough language to master! In the context of our song, “it” can be used in a couple of ways: in the normal subject or object position when a more specific subject or object is given later in the sentence. “If it’s close, swing the bat.”the situation or circumstances; things in general. “When you can take it slow, ‘cause time sure won’t.”exactly what is needed or desired as in “they thought they were it.” “you’ve either got it or you haven’t.”Like many things in life, I suppose the “right” definition depends on things like your age, life experiences, background, the context, your perspective, your family, your world view, your coworkers and the ongoing conversation in which “it” is used.

In the world of estate planning, if you have questions about how we designed it, why we did it the way we did, how to make sure it works when you need it most, how to get it funded, when it becomes effective, what it costs to keep it current, what happens if you don’t keep it current, where to get information about it, who does it, and how to make sure your family understands it, call us. We are happy to help and we always have been. We’ve been doing it for over thirty years. We’ve seen it in action and we know how it works and what to do if it doesn’t.

One final comment from Eric Church’s song for the men who need to hear this:

“What really makes you a man is being true to her ‘til your glass runs out of sand.” As my Dad used to say, “read it, learn it, live it.”

Thanks for letting us help you with it. We are honored to serve you and I am grateful to be your lawyer.